The wait is over for 16-year-old Cavan Sullivan.
Sullivan scored his first two senior goals for the Philadelphia Union in Thursday’s 7-0 second leg victory over Defence Force in CONCACAF Champions Cup action. The U.S. youth national team standout also added two assists as Bradley Carnell’s men rolled their way into the Round of 16 after an 12-0 aggregate scoreline.
Geiner Martinez opened the scoring for the Union in the seventh minute before Jovan Lukic doubled the hosts lead from the penalty spot three minutes later.
Sullivan set up Stas Korzeniowski to make it 3-0 in the 12th minute, giving the homegrown midfielder his second assist of the tournament.
Korzeniowski extended Philadelphia’s lead to 4-0 early in the second half before Sullivan teed up Ben Bender for his first club goal before the hour mark.
Sullivan added to the scoring with 14 minutes to play, drilling home a left-footed shot into the back of the net. He became the youngest American goalscorer in Champions Cup history with the finish.
The young midfielder would then add his second goal before the final whistle, finishing off Sal Olivas’ cross with a simple tap in.
The Union would advance to the Round of 16, setting up a date with Liga MX heavyweights Club America.
fwiw the idea we deal with injuries well is laughable. what i’ve seen we’ve either left spots open or called someone up from their MLS practices who maybe can’t even get to the first scheduled game on time.
that’s why you have the extras in camp, is so they are present at the training site already, fit, and ready to play that night. you don’t have to ask them to hop a plane and catch up to the team. then adjust to being with us instead of MLS.
worse, for a may/june tournament some european based players might be in their offseason. a very basic, duh reason we call extras is so if we want a european option they are match fit, and we’re not limited to MLS contingencies.
this really shouldn’t trigger all the debate it does. ditto calling a leading prospect or two for the sake of important experience for their futures. this is how things were done until 2010. we have not achieved such superior results lately that the old ways should get tossed.
particularly, injury contingencies. i think we’ve been a mess calling hurt people or awkwardly dealing with needing to drop hurt regulars. the implication we should show up short to a world cup — or be having to grab people out of MLS practices — is nuts.
IV,
“this really shouldn’t trigger all the debate it does. ”
Then stop bringing it up.
You’re the one who “trigger all the debate it does. ”
Here is what matters about injuries:
“A player on the final 26-man roster can only be replaced due to serious injury or illness up to 24 hours before the team’s first match………The replacement must come from the 35–55 player provisional list (MAY 11, 2026) submitted earlier to FIFA.”
That’s how Berhalter got called in in 2006. Make sure your boy Cavan is on the 55.
“ditto calling a leading prospect or two for the sake of important experience for their futures.”
The USMNT is not there to develop players. At least not in the sense that you are talking about.
If Cavan is 2026 WC worthy RIGHT NOW, sure, bring him in. If not fuck him, he’s diverting FOCUS from real players and if the USMNT is going to do anything in this WC they need to be focused.
Pochettino’s contract asked him to do a good job with the 2026 World Cup. There’s nothing in there as far as I know about developing Cavan-fucking-Sullivan for the fucking 2030 team. That will be someone else’s job. Unless Pochettino stays.
Starting with breaking into Pep’s Man City team ( assuming Pep stays) , Cavan will have a few years to prove himself USMNT worthy. That ought to give the USMNT manager a pretty good idea of whether Cavan is worth shit.
The “future” of the USMNT is whatever tournament they are in, in this case that is the 2026 World Cup.
Most likely the entire USMNT non-player structure will be gone after the World Cup ends. That is the nature of the international game beast.
You view the USMNT like it was a high school, select, college or even a club team and it isn’t one. The team disappears after the World Cup ends. It gets rebuilt every time, for whatever tournaments come up afterwards. Especially if the management changes.
” this is how things were done until 2010. we have not achieved such superior results lately that the old ways should get tossed.”
So what? This isn’t 2010 anymore.
Take the starting 11’s for our World Cup 2002, 2006 and 2010 teams.
Then list their second 11’s.
Compare those second 11’s to what most of us think will be the second 11 of the 2026 WC team.
The whole landscape has changed.
What “old ways” are you talking about?
The 2026 USMNT is playing the players who make the team play the best. The same was true in 2002, 2010 and the 2009 Confederations Cup. The 2002 team had players like Clint Mathis and JOB, who were better than what we have today; they just weren’t as many of them. In the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup Bob brought in Benny to play the Gio role; a part time player who could bring something to the game others couldn’t. Benny had modest stats in Denmark at the time but proved to be a good player for Bob in those tournaments. Hopefully, Gio can do the same thing.
“i am talking call 30 or so including the competing options for awkward places like AM (pulisic reyna tillman mckennie luna aaronson), DM, or wingback.”
You are not the manager. Pochettino is.
The point is while those options may be “awkward” to you they don’t seem to be awkward to Pochettino.
We don’t know yet ( and may never know) all the players who will be on the 35-55 provisional list. Pochettino probably does. We don’t know yet who Pochettino will be inviting to camp. Again, Pochettino probably already does.
From here until 24 hours before the start of the WC, the single most important variable for USMNT players will be injuries.
“i don’t think people realize it but some big names will have to get cut,”
I guess you haven’t been reading SBI the last year or so. Most everyone is aware that not all of their faves are going to make the final 26. (List must be submitted JUNE 1st, 2026)
“there’s an argument you should make those choices after a camp and not just abstracted.”
Your argument about those choices? It’s not a good one.
You’re the one making abstract choices.
You don’t have the concrete facts and you haven’t experienced the specific observable realities of these players like the USMNT staff has. Your choices are rooted in something far more ephemeral and abstract. You haven’t spent a year and a half managing, scouting and following this player pool all around the world. There will be nothing abstract about the USMNT’s choices. They have had about a year and a half, a Nations L, a Gold Cup and 22 games, with 4 more to go, with this player pool. I’m sure they would love more time but time is up.
I heard an NFL executive recently say that they don’t emphasize the NFL combine as much as they used to because these days college players have enough time to train specifically for the combine. That may produce an outlier result. And make a great impression. W/o that outlier result, teams might otherwise have to rely on insightful scouting and reviewing game tapes which maybe a better predictor of future results. Right now if there are any surprises in the World Cup camp it will likely be Banks. And he would hardly be a surprise. Also Jonathan Klinsmann or Zach as a third keeper might be a surprise.
I know you think Pochettino and his staff are ignorant compared to you. After all they still have Ream in the picture.
Unlike you, I get the impression they have been pretty successful at forging a team identity and trying to figure out which players best make it work.
If I’m Pochettino I start my projected starting 11 and use the most likely 5 subs vs Portugal or Senegal based on which of those two teams is shaping up as the strongest at that point.
The remaining two games (Belgium and Portugal or Belgium and Senegal) I would use to sort out the bubble people .
By the time we get to Germany, the WC roster will have been submitted and that game I would start my 11 starters and use the most likely 5 in the sub slots.
IV,
They won’t be short of “injury” bodies.
Thunderdome began the day Pochettino got here; these things take time.
It’s not 2006 anymore. Unless Cavan has a legit shot at playing in the WC the coaching staff will be way too busy focusing on 2026 not 20fucking30.
Focus on real players not PR stunts.
Cavan will get plenty of exposure to the big time when he tries to break into Man City’s first team.
Until he earns a shot he shouldn’t be anywhere near the WC team.
dude, i had tryouts from U10 on up to college. that is a standard, non-PR stunt way of resolving who makes a roster or not, particularly when you have guys of a similar level to decide between. and a weeks-long camp is even more definitive than a couple nights of youth select tryout or a week of college practices.
with the exception of perhaps GK and LF we have positions all over the field where it is unclear who should (a) start or even (b) make the team. it gets further complicated by everyone hasn’t been in the same place same time same opponents.
you put them all on the field and see who outplays who or shows some valuable unique use. and you can also make sure whether reyna or the like have their attitudes straight. half the reason he’s walking around last time is he didn’t think it mattered if he tried in terms of either negatively getting cut or positively earning a bigger role. you know what forces that? competition.
and i am not talking “bring cole campbell in.” or other like ideas. i realize those ships have sailed. i am talking call 30 or so including the competing options for awkward places like AM (pulisic reyna tillman mckennie luna aaronson), DM, or wingback.
i don’t think people realize it but some big names will have to get cut, and there’s an argument you should make those choices after a camp and not just abstracted.
What you’re really saying is you don’t like who you think Poch is going to pick and you hope if he just has 15 more hours of practice he’ll pick who you want. He’s already seen everyone in at least one camp. Most he’s seen 3 or 4 times for camps. Luna, Arfsten, and Freeman spent all January and June with him. This isn’t your U10 coach that hadn’t seen any of you before you showed up for tryouts. Or your U14 coach that the last time he saw you you were 4’2 and now you’re 5’0 because you had a growth spurt. They have hundreds of hours of film from tactical angles not just tv feeds. They know who each player is as best as anyone can. Poch says he’s ready and it’s time to fine tune. Guess what every coach that ever picked you used “abstraction” you had qualities that your coach valued more than the qualities of someone he/she cut. Poch and his staff are going to pick players because they fit how they want the team to play, you’d pick differently because you’d set the team up differently.
i also don’t think you get that the US has often brought in younger kids as camp bodies to these camps. it helps numbers work out right for scrimmages with subs, goalie wars, stuff like that. eg 4 keepers works out better than 3 for drills or scrimmages.
and it has a side benefit where if well chosen, the camp bodies are the future foundation of the team. they get exposure to the team, the level, the expected professionalism.
i mean, do you not get why in recent years, when done by “pure merit,” we have seemed to have issues with guys like mckennie and reyna on attitude and professionalism? perhaps try bringing in some kids early for a taster with the older players, rather than bring them in with a gold cup group with little veteran leadership.
The idea that we “often” bring in young guys is an over exaggeration at best. Once every 4 or 5 years when a youth camp lined up with a NT camp in the same city, or Euro schedules didn’t lineup with Copa America send offs, Qatar WC and they needed some players to keep non playoff MLS guys fit.
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As for your prospects being brought in MB at least had a whole MLS season under his belt with 2800 mins as an established starter. Cavan has 258 minutes with no goal contributions in MLS. Green was always rumored to have been promised a WC spot if he filed his switch. Which seemed possibly true when Klinsmann didn’t play him until down 2g in overtime against Belgium in complete desperation having lost both strikers by the end of the first match.
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Also 2006 was one of the worst performances by the US in a WC so maybe highlighting how we wasted minutes on a guy in the send off series who wasn’t even on the alternate list isn’t the glowing example you think it is.
i’d like to see cavan sullivan in pre world cup camp for a tryout like mike bradley got in 2006. i think you want your leading prospect in that camp getting a sense what the level is like, what professionalism is expected, getting high level coaching, etc. even if he’s cut.
that and the way to resolve reyna vs mckennie vs weah vs aaronson vs luna vs tillman vs zendejas etc. is put them in one camp and thunderdome it. everyone has to train and play hard, reyna can’t jog through practices, and you pick the best at the end.
but anyhow, as the lead youth prospect, sullivan should be there just to soak it all in.
personally i think it’s a control thing where the roster in the coach’s head, and his control over it, encounters outside forces if you call more than you can keep. someone could get visibly outplayed. the team might see it and have their own opinions.
and heck, i’d rather see sullivan than zendejas, for one.
and we need bodies for injuries anyway.
I don’t think a performance against Defense Force’s B Team necessitates a NT call up. Are we bringing in Korzeniowski he also had a brace. Rick had two clean sheets. Papi Grande calls me a Sullivan Fanboy and I don’t think he’s at that point based on this performance. If you can’t beat out Indiana Vassilev at your club you probably shouldn’t be there. The guys playing for Defense Force aren’t even good enough to make the Trinidad squad the GC team squashed. If he has a couple good MLS matches before camp great then we can talk but based on u17s and some TnT “pros”, not enough for me.
i never said it’s about this CCL game. to me he has had some moments for about a year. and with the YNTs on up to U18. and is ticketed to City soon enough.
and your vassilev argument is laughable. first, no one sees that argument as long term truth. he is generally seen as the next big thing. off to city at 18.
second, when you’re bringing someone into camp as a bradley/green youth camp body, you don’t do it on strict veteran merit. you do it on prospect promise. are we really pretending there are bigger prospects than cavan?
the point is not to try and wedge him into the team. primary point is put your best youth prospect in that camp to psuh his learning curve along and begin his progress towards 2030.
but i do think if he came in and tooled everyone up you toss him in end of the roster and god knows, green played his world cup and scored.
We’re not talking long term truth, we’re talking is he good enough in three weeks. If not he’s wasting time and reps that someone who is ready, could have. I’ve argued that Union are not doing enough to develop Cavan and that their system doesn’t fit him but Poch doesn’t have time to develop him 3 months out from the WC and certainly not a week before it starts. If he is successful and getting regular minutes with Union bring him in, in September not June.
Defense Force was pretty bad. They had one guy that played in the GC for TnT. At least last week Joevin Jones and Kevin Molino started (which would have been tough 10 yrs ago, but both are well past it). Their jerseys were pretty cool though, so at minimum they looked good while playing poorly.
The only reason these teams look bad now is because MLS and the US are finally producing fruits from their labor. Meaning the academy systems are much better and are now producing soccer players who are athletes. And with the college system getting revamped it now becomes pseudo academy systems too. Still aways to go with MLS academy systems, but promising days are coming much quicker.
5-10 years ago MLS teams were struggling with results against this same T&T club team.
Yes and no. The depth of MLS is better because of academies and larger salary caps, but Covid and other economic struggles have hurt island leagues. The expansion of USL teams have also attracted players from teams like Defense Force. Guys now will come play NCAA and then stay in USL which limits quality in Jamaica, Trinidad, etc…
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LAG and Vancouver still struggled so sometimes it’s match up too. Trinidad teams are usually athletic but not very technical. That style doesn’t adapt well to face the Union high press.
2 goals and 2 assists. Cavan era is starting.
He was 44 percent of the Union offense.
My bad he was 57 percent of the Union offense.